Garmin inReach Mini Orange (010-01879-00)

The inReach Mini is an excellent piece of equipment. I do a fair amount of multi-night (4-5) ultralight hiking and this is an essential item. Easy to setup and use, I pair it with an iPhone (for easy mapping and messaging on the earthmate app) and my Garmin Instinct watch (for track and time management). It lasts a good couple of days on 10 minute track intervals and around 5 two-way messages a day, and I carry a battery pack for recharging. All in all a great and super easy to use safety, mapping, weather and two-way communications device. I previously had the Spot Gen 3 and this is a much more functional and usable piece of equipment.

Great product, as described. Brand new. Good price & delivery.

Johnny Appleseed sent the product very quickly, which is great. Garmin service Australia is difficult to work with. I tried to activate my product, and it took a couple of days to go through. Since my hike had long finished, I asked for a refund. They initially refused, because their overseas head office did not give them permission to return money. It took a while to get a refund, and when it came through I was made to feel like this was a massive favour, and not something that I am entitled to. You should be aware that the price does not include a compulsory "activation charge" levied by Garmin, which in 2020 was around $37. Also there is an 'inactive' charge of around $30 a year which is payable even if the device is not used..

Love it. Does exactly what it says. Works with minimal fuss and effort (set and forget). Small, light. Almost unnoticeable and a significant emergency insurance. Only drawback: battery life in real life is not as advertised. This is mostly because you will not always have a free view of the sky and trying to maintain a satellite connection will thus cost more energy than under optimal conditions. With 10 min track intervals and completely free view of the sky (on the water), battery goes from 100 to 75% in 8 hours. This is as advertised; but in a forest, it drains significantly faster; in my experience at more than twice this speed. If you want it mainly for emergency leave it switched off, only switch on to send messages, and you won't have any trouble with battery life. The Earthmate app and the Garmin InReach web site could use some polishing and refinement but are fully functional. For any normal messaging you will want to pair it with a smartphone, but in an emergency, you can message without this as well. Brilliant device.

I’m so glad I purchased the GARMIN InReach Mini. I do a lot of of work in remote areas of some problematic countries. The small size, easily concealable, GPS coverage and the ability to make/take texts gives me great confidence when travelling.